Clearing of Lafayette Square

On Just 1st, 2020, a few days after the murder of George Floyd, a crowd of nonviolent protesters were violently dispersed by a variety of law enforcement actors, clearing the way for then President Trump to pose for a photo-op in front of St. John's Church. The aggressive response, and the lack of warning to the protesters, was captured on live television and well documented via social media. As protestors and ordinary people sympathetic to their cause shared the videos across the internet, they brought widespread condemnation to the highly disproportionate acts and to the President for seemingly orchestrating them.